2013 Nissan Sentra: Car Seat Check
With its 2013 redesign, the Nissan Sentra grew 2.3 inches in length to 182.1 inches. The backseat also increased in size over the 2012 Sentra. The compact sedan has 37.4 inches of rear legroom versus the 2012’s 34.5 inches. When we installed car seats in the 2012 Sentra, we had to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate rear-facing child-safety seats. That’s no longer the case with the redesigned 2013 Sentra.
How many car seats fit in the second row?
Two
What We Like
- The seat cushions aren’t stiff, making it easy to move them for Latch access.
- The forward-facing booster and convertible seats fit easily into the Sentra. There’s lots of legroom for kids.
- There’s no need to move the front passenger seat forward to fit the rear-facing infant and convertible seats behind it.
What We Don’t
- Seat belt buckles and straps block access to the two sets of lower Latch anchors; it’s not hard to push past the buckles and straps, but other automakers design their backseats so you don’t have to fight them for access.
- That’s not our only complaint regarding seat belt buckles – they’re also floppy, which can make them difficult for younger kids to grasp.
- Though this is a five-passenger compact sedan, there isn’t a head restraint in the middle position in the backseat.
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row.
C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row.
D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat.
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